Artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights: the quest or plea for artificial intelligence as a legal subject

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) can create a vast number of physical and intangible systems even today. Increasingly, tasks and jobs traditionally done by natural persons in various fields will be fulfilled by these non-human entities. In turn, these automated activities have vast financial and legal consequences, which points to the fact that the less meaningful human control is, the greater the need will be to regulate AI entities. In this regard, a key question relates to the legal nature of these non-human actors. By placing our analysis in the specific industry context of entertainment and the media and in relation to the legal framework of IPR, this Chapter investigates the need to regulate AI actors as legal subjects. This encompasses taking a critical look as to the feasibility of recognizing AI entities and systems as legal persons for IPR purposes, as well as the possible need to create a new sui generis legal subjectivity for independently functioning AI entities and systems.